Wireless base station and wireless communication terminal and wireless communication system

ABSTRACT

Provided is a wireless communication system capable of transmitting, at a high speed, information requested by a communication terminal to the communication terminal which moves through a spot wireless area at a high speed. In an integrated base station  101 , an external information communication section  102  controls communication with a server. A contents memory section  122  stores therein at least a part of contents received from the server. A wireless LAN communication section  105  communicates with the communication terminal in accordance with a predetermined communication method. A control section  104  establishes connection with the communication terminal by using a first connection which does not require an authentication procedure for connection with the communication terminal, or by using a second connection which requires the authentication procedure for connection with the communication terminal. An access control section  121  permits access from the communication terminal to the contents memory section  122  and prohibits access to the server when a type of connection with the communication terminal is the first connection, and permits access from the communication terminal to the contents memory section  122  and to the server in the case of the second connection.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a wireless base station, a wirelesscommunication terminal, and a wireless communication system, and moreparticularly to a wireless base station, a wireless communicationterminal that establishes connection with the wireless base station, anda wireless communication system which perform communication in a spotcommunication area.

2. Description of the Background Art

In recent years, portable equipment equipped with a communicationfunction that meets the IEEE802.11 standard (hereinafter referred to asa wireless LAN communication function) is increasingly becomingwidespread. In addition, an area of use is not limited to an office or ahouse, but areas usable as a so-called hotspot are rapidly increasingoutdoors, although the area is an isolated spot communication area. Inresponse to this, wireless LAN is not only limitedly mounted on suchapparatuses as a personal computer or office equipment, but is alsomounted to various apparatuses, including household electricalappliances. Particularly, the wireless LAN is increasingly used invarious portable-type or in-vehicle type apparatuses such as a mobilephone.

In the IEEE802.11 standard, in order to establish connection between acommunication terminal and a wireless LAN base station, the followingbasic process is required. First, the communication terminal scans allcommunication channels so as to receive beacons periodically sent bywireless LAN base stations. Next, the communication terminal specifiescommunication channels of the wireless LAN base stations, determines awireless LAN base station desired to be connected, and decides whetheror not connection with the wireless LAN base station is permissible byusing an identifier, called an SSID (Service Set Identifier). Whenconnection is permissible, a communication path between the wireless LANbase station and the communication terminal is encrypted by using anencrypting format typified by a WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy), and aWPA (Wi-Fi Protected Access). Upon completion of recognition andencrypting, the communication terminal finally becomes capable ofstarting communication with the wireless LAN base station.

In the future, as a service using a wireless LAN-mounted apparatus, itis expected that a service of system, in which wireless LAN basestations are located outdoors, and when a communication terminal passesthrough a spot communication area of one of the wireless LAN basestations, information is transmitted/received between the communicationterminal the wireless LAN base station, will be increasingly widelyused. In the future, the communication terminal will not be merely usedin a semi-fixed state, but will be used during walking. In addition, itis expected that the communication terminal will be increasingly usedfor high-speed movement such as movement by bus or by train, or used fora car navigation system equipped with a wireless LAN communicationfunction. As the movement speed of the communication terminal isincreased, there is need for reduction in time elapsing from start ofcommunication between the communication terminal and the wireless LANbase station to reception of contents from a server by the communicationterminal, in addition to reduction in time necessary for a useroperation. For example, when a line between a wireless LAN base stationand a server is congested, or when a long time is spent forauthentication of the communication terminal and the server, there maybe a case where the communication terminal is hardly able totransmit/receive information during passing through a spot communicationarea. In a worst case, there may be a case where no communication can beperformed since the communication terminal has passed over the spotcommunication area before start of communication.

Various countermeasures have been considered against the above-describedproblem. For example, disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent PublicationNo. 2004-048395 (hereinafter, referred to as Patent Document 1) is aportable information terminal wireless LAN service so as to provide asystem that distributes information to a portable information terminalpassing through a communication area of a wireless LAN base station.FIG. 24 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of aconventional portable information terminal wireless LAN service systemdisclosed in patent document 1. In FIG. 24, suppose that a portableinformation terminal (PDA) 2001 is owned by a user who, in advance,subscribes to an information service through a mobile phone, a PHS, orthe like.

The PDA 2001 has a WOR (Wake-on Ring: automatic activation) function,and in addition, has a wireless LAN client software installed thereon.An information provider 2004 is connected to a wake-on server 2005, anda gate server 2002 which are controlled by an agent server 2003. In aspot communication area where information is provided, a wireless LANbase station (not shown) is located so as to perform datatransmission/reception with a PDA 2001 owned by a user. When a userowning the PDA 2001 passes through the spot communication area, thewake-on server 2005 causes client software of the PDA 2001 to start. Theclient software of the PDA 2001 is connected to the gate server 2002 viathe wireless LAN base station, and information distributed from theinformation provider 2004 is stored in a memory of the PDA 2001.

However, even if the technology disclosed in the patent document 1 isused, when it is assumed that a communication terminal moves in a spotcommunication area or the like at a high speed, time taken by thecommunication terminal to receive information from the gate server 2002has not been sufficiently reduced. In Patent Document 1, by having theclient software started by the wake-on server 2005, the user operationnecessary for connection to the wireless LAN base station has beenimproved. However, reduction in processing time necessary for serveraccess such as server authentication and the like (usually about severalseconds is required for the connection process) is not describedtherein.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to solve theabove-described conventional problems, and to provide a wireless basestation, which is capable of receiving, at a high speed, informationrequested by a communication terminal moving and passing through a spotcommunication area at a high speed, and a communication terminal thatestablishes connection with the wireless base station, and a wirelesscommunication system.

The present invention is directed to a wireless base station connectedto a server that distributes contents and to a wireless communicationterminal. To achieve the above-described object, the wireless basestation of the present invention includes: an external communicationcontrol section that controls communication with the server; a contentsmemory section that stores at least a part of the contents received fromthe server; an access restriction section that monitors a type ofconnection with the wireless communication terminal, and restrictsaccess for connection from the wireless communication terminal to theserver or to the wireless base station; a wireless communication sectionthat communicates with the wireless communication terminal in accordancewith a predetermined communication method; and a control section thatcontrols the wireless communication section. The control sectioncontrols the wireless communication section, and establishes connectionwith the wireless communication terminal by using a first connectionwhich does not substantially require an authentication procedure forconnection with the wireless communication terminal, or by using asecond connection which requires the authentication procedure forconnection with the wireless communication terminal. The access controlsection permits access from the wireless communication terminal to thecontents memory section and prohibits access from the wirelesscommunication terminal to the server when the type of connection withthe wireless communication terminal is the first connection, and permitsaccess from the wireless communication terminal to both of the contentsmemory section and the server when the type of connection is the secondconnection.

Preferably, the control section omits the authentication procedure inthe predetermined communication method in the case of using the firstconnection for connection with the wireless communication terminal, andexecutes the authentication procedure in the predetermined communicationmethod in the case of using the second connection for connection withthe wireless communication terminal.

The contents memory section stores therein contents that are notsubjected to access restriction. Alternatively, the contents memorysection stores therein contents that are frequently requested from thewireless communication terminal.

In an interval using the first connection, the control section iscapable of collecting contents data requested from a plurality of thewireless communication terminals, controlling the wireless communicationsection, and transmitting the collected contents data, in a broadcastingformat, to the plurality of wireless communication terminals.

Preferably, the wireless communication section includes: a firstwireless communication section that communicates with the wirelesscommunication terminal in accordance with a first wireless communicationmethod; and a second wireless communication section that communicateswith the wireless communication terminal in accordance with a secondwireless communication method. Prior to the first wireless communicationsection starting communication with the wireless communication terminal,the control section controls the second wireless communication section,and transmits, to the wireless communication terminal, profileinformation that is necessary for the first wireless communicationsection to communicate with the wireless communication terminal.

The profile information includes communication channel information oridentification information of the first wireless communication section.The profile information may further include encrypting informationnecessary to encrypt the first wireless communication method. Moreover,the profile information may further include startup information thatcauses the wireless communication terminal to start a communicationfunction based on the first wireless communication method.

Preferably, the second wireless communication section operates by usinglower power than the first wireless communication section. The secondwireless communication method is a connection method which is capable ofestablishing connection with the wireless communication terminal in ashorter period of time than the first wireless communication method.

Further, the first wireless communication method may be a broadcastingtype communication method that simultaneously transmits information to aplurality of wireless communication terminals. The second wirelesscommunication method may be a broadcasting type communication methodthat simultaneously transmits information to a plurality of wirelesscommunication terminals.

At least a part of a second wireless communication area, which is anarea enabling communication using the second wireless communicationmethod, is located so as to be overlapped with a first wirelesscommunication area, which is an area enabling communication using thefirst wireless communication method. The second wireless communicationarea may be located within the first wireless communication area.

Further, the present invention is directed to a wireless communicationterminal connected, via a wireless base station, to a server thatdistributes contents. In order to achieve the above-described object,the wireless communication terminal of the present invention includes: awireless communication section that communicates with the wireless basestation in accordance with a predetermined communication method; acontrol section that controls the wireless communication section; and aterminal control section that controls transmission of information on acontents request to the wireless base station. The control sectioncontrols the wireless communication section, and establishes connectionwith the wireless communication terminal by using a first connectionwhich does not require an authentication procedure for connection withthe wireless communication terminal, or by using a second connectionwhich requires the authentication procedure for connection with thewireless communication terminal.

The wireless communication section receives, from the wireless basestation, metadata relating to contents. The terminal control sectionincludes: a user attribute extraction section that extracts userattribute information; and a request contents filter section thatfilters the metadata received from the wireless base station so as toobtain contents which strongly coincides with the user attributeinformation, and for generating the information on the contents request.

Preferably, the wireless communication section includes: a firstwireless communication section that communicates with the wirelesscommunication terminal in accordance with a first wireless communicationmethod; and a second wireless communication section that communicateswith the wireless communication terminal in accordance with a secondwireless communication method. Prior to the first wireless communicationsection starting communication with the wireless communication terminal,the control section controls the second wireless communication section,and transmits, to the wireless communication terminal, profileinformation that is necessary for the first wireless communicationsection to communicate with the wireless communication terminal.

Further, the present invention is also directed to a wirelesscommunication system in which a server that distributes contents and awireless communication terminal are connected to each other via awireless base station. To achieve the above-described object, thewireless base station includes: an external communication controlsection that controls communication with the server; a contents memorysection that stores at least a part of the contents received from theserver; an access restriction section that monitors a type of connectionwith the wireless communication terminal, and restricts access forconnection from the wireless communication terminal to the server or tothe wireless base station; a base-station-side wireless communicationsection that communicates with the wireless communication terminal inaccordance with a predetermined communication method; and abase-station-side control section that controls the base-station-sidewireless communication section. The base-station-side control sectioncontrols the base-station-side wireless communication section, andestablishes connection with the wireless communication terminal by usinga first connection which does not require an authentication procedurefor connection with the wireless communication terminal, or by using asecond connection which requires the authentication procedure forconnection with the wireless communication terminal. The access controlsection permits access from the wireless communication terminal to thecontents memory section and prohibits access from the wirelesscommunication terminal to the server when the type of connection withthe wireless communication terminal is the first connection, and permitsaccess from the wireless communication terminal to both of the contentsmemory section and the server when the type of connection is the secondconnection.

Further, the wireless communication terminal includes: a terminal-sidewireless communication section that communicates with the wireless basestation in accordance with a predetermined communication method; aterminal-side control section that controls the terminal-side wirelesscommunication section; and a terminal-side control section thattransmits information on a contents request to the wireless basestation. The terminal-side control section controls the terminal-sidewireless communication section, and establishes connection with thewireless base station by using the first connection which does notrequire the authentication procedure for connection with the wirelessbase station, or by using the second connection which requires theauthentication procedure for connection with the wireless base station.

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a wirelessbase station, which is capable of promptly and stably receivinginformation from the wireless communication terminal which passesthrough a spot wireless area at a high speed and which consequentlyenables transmission/reception of a large amount of information, awireless communication terminal connected to the wireless base station,and a wireless communication system. That is, it is possible for thewireless communication terminal to reduce time elapsing until receivingcontents while passing through a wireless base station to/from which thecontents are transmitted/received, and thus a large amount of contentscan be transmitted/received.

These and other objects, features, aspects and advantages of the presentinvention will become more apparent from the following detaileddescription of the present invention when taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic view illustrating an overall configuration of awireless communication system according to embodiment 1 of the presentinvention;

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing exemplary contents data;

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing exemplary operations performed in a secondconnection process according to embodiment 1 of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing exemplary operations performed in a firstconnection process according to embodiment 1 of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing an exemplary configuration of anintegrated base station 101 according to embodiment 1 of the presentinvention;

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing an exemplary configuration of acommunication terminal 201 according to embodiment 1 of the presentinvention;

FIG. 7 is a conceptual diagram showing a transmission sequencetransmitted from the integrated base station 101 according to embodiment1 of the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing exemplary operations of the integrated basestation 101 according to embodiment 1 of the present invention;

FIG. 9 is a sequence diagram showing, in detail, data transmissionbetween the integrated base station 101 and communication terminals 201and 202 according to embodiment 1 of the present invention;

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing exemplary operations of the integrated basestation 101 according to embodiment 1 of the present invention;

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing exemplary operations of the communicationterminal 201 according to embodiment 1 of the present invention;

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an exemplary frame format of metadata;

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an exemplary frame format of the metadata;

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing an exemplary frame format of a contentsdata request packet;

FIG. 15 is a diagram showing an exemplary frame format of the contentsdata request packet;

FIG. 16 is a diagram showing exemplary tags;

FIG. 17 is a diagram showing a process performed after the integratedbase station 101 receives contents data request packets fromcommunication terminals 1 to N until contents are broadcasted;

FIG. 18 is a diagram showing a detailed transmission sequence of datatransmitted between the integrated base station 101 and thecommunication terminals 201 and 202;

FIG. 19A is a diagram showing a process flow in the case where acontents memory 11 in the integrated base station 101 is updated;

FIG. 19B is a diagram showing a process flow of datatransmission/reception in the integrated base station 101;

FIG. 20 is a diagram showing a process flow of datatransmission/reception in the communication terminal 201;

FIG. 21A is a schematic view illustrating an overall configuration of awireless communication system according to embodiment 2 of the presentinvention;

FIG. 21B is a schematic view illustrating a purpose of the wirelesscommunication system according to embodiment 2 of the present invention;

FIG. 21C is a diagram showing an exemplary network configuration of thewireless communication system according to embodiment 2 of the presentinvention;

FIG. 22 is a block diagram showing an exemplary configuration of anintegrated base station 101 b according to embodiment 2 of the presentinvention;

FIG. 23 is a block diagram showing an exemplary configuration of acommunication terminal 201 b according to embodiment 2 of the presentinvention; and

FIG. 24 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a conventionalwireless communication system.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Hereinafter, respective embodiments of the present invention will bedescribed with reference to drawings. Generally, in a wireless LANformat, communication between a wireless LAN base station and acommunication terminal may be started only after completion ofauthentication and encryption, which are connection procedures necessaryto perform in advance. In this situation, a connection which does notrequire authentication information such as a password before start ofcommunication and which allows any communication terminal to communicatewith a base station without substantially requiring authenticationprocedures is referred to as a first connection, whereas a connection,which requires the authentication procedures requiring authenticationinformation such as the password is referred to as a second connection.

Embodiment 1

FIG. 1 is a schematic view illustrating an overall configuration of awireless communication system according to embodiment 1 of the presentinvention. In FIG. 1, the wireless communication system includes anintegrated base station (wireless base station) 101, a wirelesscommunication terminal (hereinafter simply referred to as communicationterminal) 201, and a server 10. The integrated base station 101 isconnected to the server 10, which is capable of distributing informationrelating to various kinds of contents, by using wireless or wiredcommunication. The integrated base station 101 includes there inside acontents memory 11 for storing therein contents. Further, the integratedbase station 101 is capable of mutually communicating with the server10, and has a function of caching the contents received from the server10 into the contents memory 11.

The communication terminal 201 is a communication terminal capable ofreceiving information while being moved, and is typified by a portableterminal, a PDA, a car navigation device, a PND (Personal NavigationDevice) that is a portable car navigation device, and the like, whichare hereinafter collectively referred to as a communication terminal.The communication terminal 201 establishes connection with theintegrated base station 101 by using a predetermined communicationmethod (typically, a wireless LAN communication), and in accordance withthe connection method, accessible information is restricted. In otherwords, when the integrated base station 101 is connected to thecommunication terminal 201 by using the first connection, thecommunication terminal 201 is able to receive information from thecontents memory 11 only. On the other hand, when the integrated basestation 101 is connected to the communication terminal 201 by using thesecond connection, the communication terminal 201 is able to receiveinformation from the contents memory 11 as well as from the server 10.

In the following description, an exemplary case where the communicationterminal 201 and the integrated base station 101 are connected to eachother by using the wireless LAN communication will be described. Thepresent invention, however, is applicable to all communication methodsin which the integrated base station 101 and the communication terminal201, which transmit and receive contents, operate independently of eachother, and are capable of performing spot communication. Therefore,although the explanation will be based on the wireless LAN system forconvenience, the present invention is not necessarily limited to thewireless LAN system. For example, a WiMAX in which stations are locatedso as to form a spot-type isolated wireless area, millimeter-wavecommunication in which communication is performed by using a millimeterwave, optical communication, and the like are also usable.

With reference to FIG. 2, a definition of contents will be described.The contents include metadata and contents data. The contents dataindicates contents of information service, and the metadata indicatesinformation relating to the contents data. When a television program isused as an example of contents, contents of a television programcorresponds to the contents data, and genre information such as “news”and “sport”, start time of a broadcast program, channel information, andthe like correspond to the metadata.

Further, with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4, the first connection and thesecond connection will be described. As shown in FIG. 3, the secondconnection is a mode in which the integrated base station 101 determines(authenticates) whether or not respective communication terminals 201are permitted to be connected thereto. As shown in FIG. 4, the firstconnection is a mode in which the integrated base station 101substantially permits all communication terminals 201 to be connectedthereto (open authentication, substantially no authentication), and isdesigned to simplify a procedure performed by the integrated basestation 101 for determining whether or not connection to thecommunication terminals 201 are permissible, and to reduce the timeelapsing until start of communication between the communicationterminals 201 and the integrated base station 101. Details will bedescribed later.

First, the second connection that is a typical authentication process inthe wireless LAN communication will be described. FIG. 3 is a sequencediagram illustrating a case where the communication terminal 201 isconnected to the integrated base station 101 by using the secondconnection. As shown in FIG. 3, the communication terminal 201 performschannel search in order to search for a communication channel of theintegrated base station 101 (step all). During the channel search, thecommunication terminal 201 monitors all channels for a predeterminedperiod of time, and receives a beacon from the integrated base station101, thereby confirming the presence of the integrated base station 101having the channel.

The communication terminal 201 receives the beacon transmitted from theintegrated base station 101 (step a01). The beacon includes an SSIDtransmitted from the integrated base station 101. The communicationterminal 201 transmits, to the integrated base station 101, the SSIDprovided to the beacon, that is, a probe request for requesting start ofconnection (step a02). Upon reception of the probe request, theintegrated base station 101 transmits a probe reply to the communicationterminal 201 (step a03).

Next, the communication terminal 201 transmits an authentication requestto the integrated base station 101 in order to obtain authenticationpermission from the integrated base station 101 (step a04). Uponreception of the authentication request, the integrated base station 101performs a determination process for determining whether or notconnection to the communication terminal 20 that has performed theauthentication request is permissible. For example, in the wireless LANcommunication, the determination process for connection permission isperformed through an exchange of an encrypted message. Specifically, theintegrated base station 101 transmits a random value called “challenge”to the communication terminal 201 (step a05).

Next, the communication terminal 201 encrypts the challenge by using anencryption key, and transmits the encrypted challenge response to theintegrated base station 101 (step a06). Upon reception of the encryptedchallenge response, the integrated base station 101 decodes theencrypted challenge, and when the decoded challenge corresponds to itsoriginal challenge, connection of the communication terminal 201 ispermitted. Based on the series of procedures, the integrated basestation 101 determines whether or not connection to the communicationterminal 201 is permissible, and when the connection is permitted, theauthentication response is transmitted to the communication terminal 201(step a07).

In FIG. 3, an authentication operation for determining whether or notconnection to the communication terminal 201 is permissible is referredto as an authentication process. In the authentication process, when theintegrated base station 101 determines that connection is permissible,the communication terminal 201 performs an association request forestablishing logical connection with the integrated base station 101(step a08). On the other hand, the integrated base station 101 returnsan association reply (step a09). Upon completion of association, thecommunication terminal 201 and the integrated base station 101 are ableto start communication (step a10).

Next, FIG. 4 a sequence diagram showing a case where the communicationterminal 201 is connected to the integrated base station 101 by usingthe first connection. In the first connection, unlike the secondconnection, upon reception of an authentication request from thecommunication terminal 201, the integrated base station 101 promptlyreturns an authentication response. In FIG. 4, authentication betweenthe authentication request in step a04 and the authentication responsein step a07 is referred to as an open authentication. The firstconnection is a simple connection method in which the authenticationprocess of the second connection is replaced with the openauthentication. Although the open authentication is referred to as“authentication”, the integrated base station 101 promptly returns theauthentication response upon reception of the authentication request, asabove described, and thus permits connection of all communicationterminals 201 substantially without authentication. Therefore, in theauthentication process of the second connection shown in FIG. 3, theintegrated base station 101 needs time for various significant processesfor strictly determining whether or not connection with thecommunication terminal 201 is permissible. On the other hand, the firstconnection does not perform such processes, and thus it is possible toreduce time elapsing from start of connection to start of communicationas compared to the second connection.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing an exemplary configuration of theintegrated base station 101 according to embodiment 1 of the presentinvention. As shown in FIG. 5, respective sections in the integratedbase station 101 are connected via a system bus, and are capable oftransferring data mutually. An external information communicationsection 102 transfers contents information from the server 10 to amemory section, or conversely transfers information from the memorysection 103 to the server 10 by using a wired communication technologysuch as Ethernet (registered trademark) or the like.

The base station control section 120 includes an access restrictionsection 121 and a contents memory section 122. The access restrictionsection 121 monitors a connection type of the communication terminal 201connected to the integrated base station 101, and permits access fromthe communication terminal 201 to the server 10 and the contents memorysection 122 when the connection type is the second connection. On theother hand, when the connection type is the first connection, the accessrestriction section 121 prohibits access from the communication terminal201 to the server 10, and only permits access therefrom to the contentsmemory section 122. The contents memory section 122 mainly caches highlypublic contents among contents included in the server 10. The highlypublic contents are, for example, town tourist information, storeinformation, news information, whether information, traffic information,and the like. That is, the contents memory section 122 mainly storestherein contents which are not subjected to access restriction as aresult of the authentication of the communication terminal 201. Further,in order to reduce the connection time, the contents memory section 122may stores therein contents that are very frequently requested from thecommunication terminal 201.

A control section 104 includes a communication control section 123, anda wireless LAN control section 108. The communication control section123 is a section for controlling the whole of the integrated basestation 101, and includes a profile information control section 115, acommunication control information storage section 126, a receivingbuffer section 215, and a transmitting buffer section 219. The profileinformation control section 115 is designed to store therein information(profile information) necessary for the communication terminal 201 toestablish connection through communication with the wireless LANcommunication section 105.

Here, the profile information will be described. The profile informationis a communication channel, identification information (e.g., BSSID),encrypting information (e.g., a WEP key) and the like of the wirelessLAN control section 108. The profile information is not limited to theabove-described information as long as the information is designed tofacilitate high-speed simple connection with the wireless LAN controlsection 108.

The communication control information storage section 126 stores thereinan instruction set for controlling the wireless LAN control section 108.A receiving buffer section 215 is used for buffering informationreceived by the wireless LAN control section 108. In a similar manner,the transmitting buffer section 219 is used for buffering information tobe transmitted by using the wireless LAN control section 108.

The wireless LAN control section 108 is a section to control thewireless LAN, and includes a frame generation and transmission/receptioncontrol section 125. The wireless LAN communication section 105 includesa transmitting section 106, a receiving section 107, and an antennasection 113. A wireless LAN startup information storage section 501 hasinformation for starting the wireless LAN communication section of thecommunication terminal 201, and attaches wireless LAN startupinformation to a packet to be transmitted to the communication terminal201.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing an exemplary configuration of thecommunication terminal 201 according to embodiment 1 of the presentinvention. As shown in FIG. 6, respective sections in the communicationterminal 201 are connected via a system bus, and thus are able totransfer data mutually. The communication terminal 201 includes acontrol section 802, a wireless LAN communication section 804, a memorysection 220, an input section 217, a terminal control section 227, adisplay section 218, and a sensor section 228.

The wireless LAN communication section 804 includes a transmittingsection 207, a receiving section 208, an antenna section 209, and awireless LAN power supply section 807. The control section 802 includesa communication control section 226 and a wireless LAN control section805. The communication control section 226 controls the wireless LANcontrol section 805. The wireless LAN control section 805 includes awireless LAN power supply control section 806, a profile informationsetting section 205, and a frame generation and transmission/receptioncontrol section 225. The profile information setting section 205obtains, from a profile information storage section 214, profileinformation of a wireless LAN to be connected, and sets connectioninformation for its own wireless LAN communication.

The memory section 220 is used for storing and buffering data of thecommunication terminal 201. The memory section 220 includes a profileinformation storage section 214, a communication control informationstorage section 223, a receiving buffer section 215, and a transmittingbuffer section 219. The profile information storage section 214 storestherein profile information which is received by the communicationterminal 201 and is necessary for connection with the integrated basestation 101. Further, the communication control information storagesection 223 stores therein an instruction set necessary for thecommunication terminal 201 to perform communication. The input section217 is a section to which a user operation is inputted.

The terminal control section 227 is a section for controlling a terminalfunction of the communication terminal 201, and includes a requestcontents filter section 221, a display control section 216, and a userattribute extraction section 222. The display control section 216controls information displayed on a display section 218 of thecommunication terminal 201. The user attribute extraction section 222extracts an attribute and a preference of a user (hereinafter referredto as user attribute information) in accordance with information from asensor section 228. The request contents filter section 221 filtersmetadata received from the integrated base station 101 so as to obtaincontents that coincide with the user in accordance with the userattribute information extracted by the user attribute extraction section222. Request information obtained through filtering by the requestcontents filter section 221 is transmitted from the communicationterminal 201 to the integrated base station 101. Accordingly, thecommunication terminal 201 receives information that strongly correlateswith the preference of the user of the terminal.

FIG. 7 shows a schematic diagram of a transmission sequence from theintegrated base station 101. One of the features of the presentinvention is that depending on whether connection between thecommunication terminal 201 and the integrated base station 101 isestablished by using the first connection or the second connection,information accessible by the communication terminal 201 is restricted.Accordingly, the integrated base station 101 also needs to havecommunication intervals using these two connections. As shown in FIG. 7,the integrated base station 101 is configured so as to repeat thecommunication interval using the first connection and the communicationinterval using the second connection. The two communication intervalsneed not have fixed time lengths, and may be changed dynamically. Thatis, when there is a plurality of the communication terminals 201performing communication with the integrated base station 101, and mostof the communication terminals use the first connection, then it ispossible to set the length of the communication interval using the firstconnection longer. Accordingly, it is possible to effectively utilize acommunication band.

With reference to FIG. 8, a process flow of the integrated base station101 (FIG. 6) will be described. As shown in FIG. 8, the integrated basestation 101 receives a request packet from the communication terminal201 (step S502). Next, the access restriction section 121 checks aconnection method for connecting with the communication terminal 201(step S503). When connection with the communication terminal 201 isestablished by using the second connection, the integrated base station101 sets such that the communication terminal 201 is accessible to bothof the contents memory section 122 and the server 10 (step S505). Whenthe connection with the communication terminal 201 is established byusing the first connection, the integrated base station 101 sets suchthat the communication terminal 201 is accessible to the contents memorysection 122 only (step S506).

Here, a method for checking, by the access control section 121, theconnection method for connecting with the communication terminal 201 andwill be described. Various methods may be considered as the method forchecking, by the access control section 121, the connection method forconnecting with the communication terminal 201. For example, theintegrated base station 101 may store, in the access restriction section121 or the like, a MAC address of a communication terminal to beconnected thereto and the connection method, so as to identify theconnection method for connection with the communication terminal 201 inaccordance with a MAC address of a source of a received packet (i.e.,the MAC address of the communication terminal 201).

Further, a method may be used in which the integrated base station 101may have an SSID for the first connection and an SSID for the secondconnection, such that the communication terminal 201 selects the SSIDfor connection with the integrated base station 101 in accordance withthe first connection and the second connection. Still further, bypreparing individual encryption keys (e.g., a WEP key or the like) forthe first connection and the second connection, it may be possible forthe integrated base station 101 to determine whether the communicationterminal 201 has sent a packet by using the first connection or thesecond connection.

The access control section 121 may check the connection method forconnecting with the communication terminal 201 by using theabove-described methods in a combined manner, or need not necessarilyuse the methods. For example, the access restriction section 121 maydetermine that the first connection is used for the connection with thecommunication terminal 201 when contents of a request packet requestedby the communication terminal 201 is stored in the contents memorysection 122. On the other hand, the access restriction section 121 maydetermine that the second connection is used for the connection with thecommunication terminal 201 when the contents of the request packetrequested by the communication terminal 201 is not stored in thecontents memory section 122, but in the server 10.

Alternatively, the communication terminal 201 may determine, based onmetadata received thereby, the connection method for connection with theintegrated base station 101, whereas the access control section 121 maydetermine whether the first connection or the second connection is usedin accordance with the connection method determined by the communicationterminal 201. In this case, the communication terminal 201 is able toidentify, based on the received metadata, whether the requested contentsare stored in the integrated base station 101 or in the server 10. Whenthe requested contents are stored in the integrated base station 101,the communication terminal 201 establishes connection with theintegrated base station 101 using the first connection. On the otherhand, when the requested contents are stored in the server 10, thecommunication terminal 201 establishes connection with the integratedbase station 101 using the second connection.

Further, another feature of the present invention is that the integratedbase station 101 efficiently transmits information while combiningbroadcasting and communication. FIG. 9 shows, in detail, a datatransmission sequence in the present invention. In FIG. 9, data 609 and614 indicated with ellipses is data transmitted from the integrated basestation 101 by using broadcasting. The communication intervals 604 and608 are each an interval using the second connection. First, theintegrated base station 101 broadcasts the metadata 609 in a metadatatransmission interval 601 onto a communication terminal 201 and acommunication terminal 202. The communication terminals 201 and 202process the received metadata 609 in their request contents filtersections 221, so as to determine contents data to be requested. Thecommunication terminals 201 and 202 transmit and receive, to and fromthe integrated base station 10, data 610 and 612 used in a firstconnection process and requests 611 and 613 for contents data. Theintegrated base station 101 collects the requested contents data in acontents data transmission interval 603, and broadcasts contents data614 requested as a result of the collection.

FIG. 10 shows an exemplary operation performed by the integrated basestation 101, in which broadcasting and communication are combinedtogether. As shown in FIG. 9 and FIG. 10, the integrated base station101 transmits metadata 609 in metadata transmission intervals 601 and605 (step S702). Next, the integrated base station 101 establishes, byusing the first connection, connection with the communication terminal201 which has received the metadata 609 (step S703). The integrated basestation 101 receives contents data request packets 611 and 613transmitted from the communication terminal 201 in the contents datarequest intervals 602 and 606 (step S704), and summarizes the contentsdata request packets so as to generate data to be transmitted (stepS705). The integrated base station 101 then transmits the contents data614 in contents data transmission intervals 603 and 607 (step S706).

Next, when there is a communication terminal 201 requesting a secondconnection process in normal communication intervals 604 and 608, theintegrated base station 101 performs the second connection process forconnection with the communication terminal 201 (step S708), and performsnormal wireless LAN communication (step S709). When there is nocommunication terminal 201 requesting the second connection process inthe communication intervals 604 and 608, the process is terminated.

FIG. 11 shows a process flow of the communication terminal 201. As shownin FIG. 9 and FIG. 11, the communication terminal 201 receives metadatafrom the integrated base station 101 in metadata transmission intervals601 and 605 (step S802). Next, the communication terminal 201determines, in its request contents filter section 221, contents desiredto be received, and stores a list of contents data requests in atransmission buffer (step S803). The communication terminal 201 thenperforms the first connection process for connection with the integratedbase station 101 in the contents data request intervals 602 and 606(step S804), and transmits a contents data request packet to theintegrated base station 101 (step S805). Next, the communicationterminal 201 receives contents data from the integrated base station 101in the contents data transmission intervals 603 and 607 (step S806). Inthe case of requiring more personal information and detailedinformation, the communication terminal 201 performs normalcommunication with the integrated base station 101. In the case ofperforming the normal communication (Yes in step S807), thecommunication terminal 201 performs the second connection process forconnection with the integrated base station 101 (step S808), so as tostart the normal communication (step 809). In the case of no normalcommunication being performed, the process is terminated.

FIG. 12 shows a frame format of metadata transmitted from the integratedbase station 101. As shown in FIG. 12, the metadata transmitted from theintegrated base station 101 generally includes data equivalent to aplurality of contents. Metadata corresponding to certain contents hasadded thereto a contents ID and a tag corresponding to the contents ID.

The frame format of the metadata is not necessarily limited to such aformat shown in FIG. 12 as long as the frame format includes thecontents ID and the tag indicative of meta information. For example, aframe format shown in FIG. 13 may be applicable. As shown in FIG. 13, alist of metadata of contents transmitted from the integrated basestation 101 is transmitted, and then contents IDs and index informationof tags may be added. Accordingly, duplicated tags are not transmittedin a duplicated state, which contributes to reduction in an amount ofdata to be transmitted.

FIG. 14 shows an exemplary frame format of a contents data requestpacket transmitted by the communication terminal 201 to the integratedbase station 101. With reference to FIG. 14, the integrated base station101 transmits requesting contents IDs to the integrated base station101. In the case of requesting normal data, the communication terminal201 uses a URL request or the like. However, by assigning ID numbers tocontents data cached in the integrated base station 101, it is possibleto significantly reduce an amount of data requested by the communicationterminal 201.

The communication terminal 201 need not necessarily use the contents IDfor performing contents data request. Instead, as shown in FIG. 15, forexample, tags may be used for contents request. Accordingly, in additionthat the amount of information of request packets transmitted by thecommunication terminal 201 is reduced, the communication terminal 201 isable to determine contents desired to be received, in accordance withthe tag, instead of individual contents. Thus, it is possible to reducetime required for filtering for obtaining contents to be requested.

FIG. 16 shows exemplary tags. The tag is different from a category inthat use of the tag enables addition of a plurality of pieces ofattribute information to one piece of information. For example, to movieinformation, “news” and “entertainment” tags may be added, and torestaurant information, “coupon” and “restaurant” tags may be added.Tags are added to contents, and request for desired contents areperformed accordingly, whereby it is possible to request contentssuitable to a preference of a user of the communication terminal 201while a load of a filtering process placed on the communication terminal201 is reduced.

With reference to FIG. 17, processing from reception of contents datarequest packets from communication terminals 201 to 20N through tobroadcasting of the contents, performed by the integrated base station101, will be described. The communication terminals 201 to 20N requestfor tags of their desired contents, respectively. Here, suppose that thecommunication terminal 201 requests for “tag A” and “tag B”, thecommunication terminal 202 requests for “tag A”, “tag C”, and “tag D”,and the communication terminal 20N requests for “tag A” and “tag D”. Theintegrated base station 101 summarizes tags requested by thecommunication terminals 201 to 20N, and refers to a table owned thereby.As a result of the summary, the tags requested by the communicationterminals 201 to 20N are “tag A”, “tag B”, “tag C”, and “tag D”, andthus contents to be transmitted are “contents 1”, “contents 2”,“contents 3”, “contents 4”, and “contents 5”. The integrated basestation 101 broadcasts the summarized contents.

In this manner, the integrated base station 101 summarizes requestinformation from the respective communication terminals 201 to 20N, andbroadcasts contents corresponding to the summarized request information,whereby it is possible to minimize an amount of data for transmittinginformation requested by all the communication terminals 201 to 20N.

As shown in FIG. 18, the integrated base station 101 may be configuredso as to broadcast a fixed amount of contents without receiving anyrequest from the communication terminals 201 and 202. In FIG. 18, data609 and 1501 indicated with ellipses is data transmitted from theintegrated base station 101 by using broadcasting. The integrated basestation 101 broadcasts metadata 609 onto the communication terminal 201and the communication terminal 202 in the metadata transmissionintervals 601 and 605. In this case, the integrated base station 101performs broadcasting including metadata of contents that is not cachedin the contents memory 11. Next, the integrated base station 101broadcasts the contents data 1501 onto the communication terminal 201and the communication terminal 202 in the contents data transmissionintervals 603 and 606. The communication terminals 201 and 202 receive,through individual communication, contents that are not broadcasted innormal communication intervals 604 and 608. Specifically, thecommunication terminals 201 and 202 transmits and receives data 1502 and1505 used for the first connection process and contents data requestpackets 1503 and 1506 to and from the integrated base station 101. Theintegrated base station 101 transmits individually requested contentsdata 1504 and 1507 to the communication terminals 201 and 202.

Next, a method for determining contents to be broadcasted by theintegrated base station 101 in contents data transmission intervals 603and 606 will be described. In the contents data transmission intervals603 and 606 in the integrated base station 101, it is preferable tobroadcast information very frequently requested by the communicationterminals 201 and 202. This is because frequency of individual requestsof the contents data is reduced in the normal communication intervals604 and 608. Data broadcasted by the integrated base station 101 in thecontents data transmission intervals 603 and 606 includes contentsfrequently requested by the communication terminals 201 and 202 in thenormal communication intervals 604 and 608, in addition to contents datato be transmitted by all means such as town notice, emergencyinformation, and the like. Probability that contents, among allcontents, requested by the communication terminals 201 and 202 aretransmitted in the contents data transmission intervals 603 and 606, isdefined as a hit rate. In this situation, when information, which ishighly requested by the communication terminals 201 and 202 individuallyin the normal communication intervals 604 and 608, is broadcasted in thecontents data transmission intervals 603 and 606, it is possible toraise the hit rate.

FIG. 19A shows a flow chart of updating of the contents memory 11 in theintegrated base station 101, based on the method illustrated in FIG. 18.As shown in FIG. 19A, the integrated base station 101 receives from theserver 10 contents to be cached in the contents memory 11 (step S1602).Next, the integrated base station 101 determines whether or not toupdate the contents, and receives the contents again from the server 10in the case of updating the contents to be cached (Yes in step S1603).On the other hand, in the case of not updating the contents, the processis terminated (step S1604). Determination of whether or not to updatethe contents is preferably performed regularly, but is not necessarilyperformed so. Alternatively, a configuration may be possible in whichwhen contents being cached is updated on the server 10, the server 10provides a trigger, such that the contents being cached in theintegrated base station 101 is updated.

FIG. 19B shows a flow chart of data transmission/reception performed onthe integrated base station 101, based on the method illustrated in FIG.18. As shown in FIG. 18 and FIG. 19B, the integrated base station 101transmits metadata 609 in metadata transmission intervals 601 and 605(step S1702). Next, the integrated base station 101 broadcasts contentsdata 1501 in contents data transmission intervals 603 and 606 (stepS1703). Then, the integrated base station 101 performs the secondconnection process for connection with the communication terminals 201and 202 (step S1704), and receives contents data request packets 1503and 1506 transmitted from the communication terminals 201 and 202 (stepS1705). Thereafter, the integrated base station 101 transmits contentsdata 1504 and 1507 on a request basis (step S1706). Further, theintegrated base station 101 transmits request information to the server10 in order to improve the hit rate (step S1707).

FIG. 20 shows a flow chart of data transmission/reception performed onthe communication terminal 201, based on the method illustrated in FIG.18. As shown in FIG. 18 and FIG. 20, the communication terminal 201receives the metadata 609 from the integrated base station 101 in themetadata transmission intervals 601 and 605 (step S1802). Next, thecommunication terminal 201 determines, in its request contents filtersection 221, contents desired to be received, and stores a list ofcontents data requests in a transmission buffer (step S1803). Next, thecommunication terminal 201 receives contents data 1501 in the contentsdata transmission intervals 603 and 606 (step S1804). Then communicationterminal 201 performs, in the normal communication intervals 604 and608, the second connection process for connection with the integratedbase station 101 in order to receive, in contents data transmissionintervals 603 and 606, contents data yet to be broadcasted (step S1805),and transmits contents data request packet 1503 to the integrated basestation 101 (step S1806). The communication terminal 201 finallyreceives contents data 1504 that is yet to be broadcasted or received,in the normal communication interval 604 and 608, from the integratedbase station 101 (step S1807).

As described above, according to the present invention, when theintegrated base station 101 is connected to the communication terminal201 by using the first connection, the communication terminal 201 isable to obtain contents stored in the contents memory 11. On the otherhand, when the integrated base station 101 is connected to thecommunication terminal 201 by using the second connection, thecommunication terminal 201 is able to obtain contents stored in both thecontents memory 11 and the server 10. That is, switching between thefirst connection and the second connection enables reduction in timenecessary for the communication terminal 201 to obtain contents whilemaintaining security.

In the present invention, an external information communication section102 of the integrated base station 101 performs communication with theserver 10. However, the communication need not be wired communicationsuch as the Ethernet (registered trademark). Instead, the communicationmay be performed with the server 10 by using a wireless LAN, an FWA(Fixed Wireless Access), or the like. Accordingly, it is possible toenhance flexibility in installation of the integrated base station 101.

Embodiment 2

FIG. 21A is a schematic view illustrating an overall configuration of awireless communication system according to embodiment 2 of the presentinvention. As shown in FIG. 21A, the wireless communication systemaccording to the present embodiment includes an integrated base station101 b, a communication terminal 201 b, and a server 10. In FIG. 21A, thefeature of the wireless communication system of the present embodimentis that it is possible, compared to embodiment 1, to reduce timeelapsing until start of wireless communication between the integratedbase station 101 b and the communication terminal 201 b.

FIG. 21B is a schematic view illustrating an outline of the wirelesscommunication system according to embodiment 2 of the present invention.In FIG. 21B, the wireless communication system according to the presentembodiment is based on an assumption, for example, that a moving speedof the communication terminal 201 b is higher, or that an area forallowing wireless LAN communication with the integrated base station 101b (hereinafter, referred to as a wireless LAN communication area) isnarrower as compared to embodiment 1. Under such a condition, in thecase where the communication terminal 201 b passes through the wirelessLAN communication area, if a long time elapses until start ofcommunication, the communication terminal 201 b is not able to receivecontents since the communication terminal 201 b passes over a wirelessLAN communication area 300 of the integrated base station 101 b beforecompletion of reception of the contents. Therefore, an object ofembodiment 2 is to solve the above-described problem and to allow theintegrated base station 101 b and the communication terminal 201 b tostart wireless communication promptly by using wireless communication(hereinafter referred to as control-wireless communication) other thanthe wireless LAN communication.

In embodiment 2, in order to reduce time elapsing until start ofcommunication, the control-wireless communication other than thewireless LAN communication is used, and the integrated base station 101b and the communication terminal 201 b mutually exchange communicationchannel information and SSIDs (i.e., profile information) in advance.Accordingly, for example in FIG. 3, it is possible to reduce timerequired for searching for a communication channel in the integratedbase station 101. In addition, the integrated base station 101 btransmits beacons at predetermined intervals when the wireless LANcommunication is used, and thus it is possible reduce waiting timeduring which the communication terminal 201 b waits for transmission ofthe beacons from the integrated base station 101 b.

The control-wireless communication may be applicable to allcommunication methods in which the integrated base station 101 b and thecommunication terminal 201 b operate independently of each other, andwhich allows spot communication. Since operation in energy saving modeis preferable, the communication method such as a Zigbee may beconsidered as a prospect. By using the control-wireless communicationrequiring low power consumption, it is possible to reduce batteryconsumption in the communication terminal 201 b. In addition, in thecontrol-wireless communication, the communication terminal 201 bpreferably has a function of automatically waking up from a sleepingstate to start communication (WOR: Wake On Radio) when entering acommunication area. Accordingly, the communication terminal 201 b waitswhile using a saved power in an area outside a communication area, andwakes up from the sleeping state when being moved into the communicationarea, so as to be automatically connected to the integrated base station101 b. Therefore, by using the control-wireless communication, thecommunication terminal 201 b constantly searches for an area while usingthe saved power, and is able to be connected to the integrated basestation 101 promptly upon detection of the area.

The Bluetooth may be one of the prospects for low power consumptiontechnology, however, this method does not have the WOR function, andthus it is unfit to utilize Bluetooth to perform the above-describedoperation. In addition, it is desirable that a process time before startof communication is short. In this regard, Zigbee is more preferablethan Bluetooth since Bluetooth requires about several seconds forconnection. As another prospect, a DSRC (Dedicated Short RangeCommunication) system, which is a communication method developed forhigh-speed vehicles, is able to achieve high-speed connection, and thusis preferable. Since the DSRC is a wireless method capable oftransmitting information to a communication terminal at a high speed,use of this method enables the communication terminal to reduce time fortransmitting/receiving contents from an integrated base station, andthus this method is also preferable in this regard.

As a physical layer used for the control-wireless communication, variousspecified low power wireless communication such as a UHF band and thelike, and a UWB (Ultra Wide Band) and the like may be used, in additionto the physical layer used for the above-described communicationmethods. Further, without limiting to the wireless communication,optical communication using an optical beacon, for example, may be used.

FIG. 21C is a diagram showing an exemplary network configuration of thewireless communication system according to the second embodiment of thepresent invention. In FIG. 21C, the integrated base station 101 boperates as a wireless LAN base station as well as a control wirelessbase station. In other words, the integrated base station 101 bfunctions as the wireless LAN base station (wireless LAN communicationfunction) to perform wireless LAN communication with the communicationterminal 201 b, and also functions as the control wireless base station(control-wireless communication function) to perform control-wirelesscommunication with the communication terminal 201 b.

The integrated base station 101 b transmits profile information of thewireless LAN base station to the communication terminal 201 b by usingthe control-wireless communication (1). Hereinafter, the profileinformation of the wireless LAN base station is simply referred to asprofile information. The profile information represents settinginformation for establishing connection with the wireless LAN basestation of the integrated base station 101 b.

The communication terminal 201 b has a function (wireless LANcommunication function) of communicating with the wireless LAN basestation, and also has a function (control-wireless communicationfunction) of communicating with the control wireless base station. Thecommunication terminal 201 b may have a function oftransmitting/receiving various pieces of information (includingcontents) to/from the server 10 and the integrated base station 101 b.When passing through a control-wireless communication area 301 of theintegrated base station 101 b, the communication terminal 201 b receivesprofile information transmitted from the integrated base station 101 bby using the control-wireless communication. The control-wirelesscommunication area 301 is an area in which the integrated base station101 b is able to perform the control-wireless communication. Further, awireless LAN communication area 300 is an area in which the integratedbase station 101 b is able to perform the wireless LAN communication.Upon reception of the profile information, the communication terminal201 b updates the setting information relating to the wireless LANcommunication in accordance with the received profile information (2).

The communication terminal 201 b starts connection with the wireless LANbase station of the integrated base station 101 b by using the wirelessLAN communication (3), and perform transmission/reception of variouspieces of information after completion of connection (4). For theintegrated base station 101 b, it is preferable that thecontrol-wireless communication area 301 is located inside the wirelessLAN communication area 300. Accordingly, the communication terminal 201b starts connection with the integrated base station 101 b promptly uponreception of the profile information.

FIG. 22 is a block diagram showing an exemplary configuration of theintegrated base station 101 b according to embodiment 2 of the presentinvention. In FIG. 22, the integrated base station 101 b furtherincludes a control-wireless communication section 110 in contrast to theintegrated base station 101 according to embodiment 1. A control section104 further includes a control wireless control section 109. Respectivesections in the integrated base station 101 b are connected via a systembus, and thus are able to transfer data mutually. An externalinformation communication section 102 is designed to transfer contentsinformation from the server 10 to a memory 103 by means of a wiredcommunication technology such as Ethernet (registered trademark), or totransfer information in the memory 103 to the server 10, on thecontrary.

A base station control section 120 has an access restriction section 121and a contents memory section 122. The access restriction section 121monitors a connection type of the communication terminal 201 b which isconnected to the integrated base station 101 b, and permits access fromthe communication terminal 201 b to the server 10 and to the contentsmemory section 122 when the connection type is the second connection. Onthe other hand, the access restriction section 121 prohibits the accessfrom the communication terminal 201 b to the server 10 when theconnection type is the first connection, and permits access to thecontents memory section 122 only. The contents memory section 122 mainlycaches highly public information among information in the server 10. Thehighly public information is, for example, typified by town touristinformation, store information, news information, weather information,traffic information, and the like.

The control section 104 includes a communication control section 123, acontrol wireless control section 109, and a wireless LAN control section108. The communication control section 123 is a section for controllingthe whole of the integrated base station 101, and includes a profileinformation control section 115, a communication control informationstorage section 126, a receiving buffer section 215, and a transmittingbuffer section 219. The profile information control section 115 isdesigned to store information (profile information) necessary for thecommunication terminal 201 b to establish connection with the wirelessLAN communication section 105 through communication. The profileinformation has been described above.

The communication control information storage section 126 stores thereinan instruction set for controlling the control wireless control section109 and the wireless LAN control section 108. The receiving buffersection 215 is used for buffering information received by the wirelessLAN control section 108 and the control wireless control section 109. Ina similar manner, the transmitting buffer section 219 is used forbuffering information to be transmitted by using the wireless LANcontrol section 108 and the control wireless control section 109.

The control wireless control section 109 is a section for controllingthe control-wireless communication, and includes a frame generation andtransmission/reception control section 124 for controlling generationand transmission/reception of a frame. In a similar manner, the wirelessLAN control section 108 is a section for controlling the wireless LANcommunication, and includes a frame generation andtransmission/reception control section 125. The wireless LANcommunication section 10S includes a transmitting section 106, areceiving section 107, and an antenna section 113. Further, thecontrol-wireless communication section 110 includes a transmittingsection 111, a receiving section 112, and an antenna section 114. Thewireless LAN startup information storage section 501 retains informationfor starting the wireless LAN communication section of the communicationterminal 201 a, and transmits startup information to the controlwireless control section 109, whereby the wireless LAN startupinformation is attached to a packet transmitted by usingcontrol-wireless communication.

FIG. 23 is a block diagram showing an exemplary configuration of thecommunication terminal 201 b according to embodiment 2 of the presentinvention. As shown in FIG. 23, respective sections in the communicationterminal 201 b are connected via a system bus, and thus are able totransfer data mutually. A wireless LAN communication section 804includes a transmitting section 207, a receiving section 208, an antennasection 209, and a wireless LAN power supply section 807. Thecontrol-wireless communication section 110 includes a transmittingsection 111, a receiving section 112, and an antenna section 113. Thecontrol section 802 includes a control wireless control section 203, acommunication control section 226, and a wireless LAN control section805. The communication control section 226 controls the wireless LANcontrol section 805 and the control wireless control section 203. Thecontrol wireless control section 203 includes a frame generation andtransmission/reception control section 224 for controlling generationand transmission/reception of a frame. The wireless LAN control section805 includes a wireless LAN power supply control section 806, a profileinformation setting section 205, and a frame generation andtransmission/reception control section 225. The profile informationsetting section 205 obtains, from a profile information storage section214, profile information of the wireless LAN to be connected to, andsets connection information for its own wireless LAN communication.

The memory 220 is used for storing and buffering data of communicationterminal 201 b, and includes the profile information storage section214, a communication control information storage section 223, areceiving buffer section 215, and a transmitting buffer section 219. Theprofile information storage section 214 stores therein profileinformation which is received by the communication terminal 201 b and isnecessary for establishing connection with the integrated base station101 b. Further, the communication control information storage section223 stores therein an instruction set necessary for the communicationterminal 201 b to perform communication.

The terminal control section 227 is a section for controlling thecommunication terminal 201 b, and includes a request contents filtersection 221, a display control section 216, and a user attributeextraction section 222. The display control section 216 controlsinformation to be displayed on the display section 218 of thecommunication terminal 201 b. The user attribute extraction section 222extracts an attribute and a preference of a user, based on informationfrom a sensor section 228. Based on a user attribute extracted by theuser attribute extraction section 222, the request contents filtersection 221 filters the metadata received from the integrated basestation 101 a to obtain contents which are considered to be highlypreferred by the user of the communication terminal 201 b. The requestinformation obtained through filtering by the request contents filtersection 221 is transmitted from the communication terminal 201 b to theintegrated base station 101 a. The communication terminal 201 b receivesinformation that strongly correlates with the preference of the user ofthe terminal.

Description of the process thereafter is the same as that described inembodiment 1, and thus will be omitted.

In embodiment 2 of the present invention, the method has been describedin which the integrated base station 101 b transmits channel informationand SSID information to the communication terminal 201 b by usingcontrol-wireless communication, so as to establish a high-speedconnection with the integrated base station 101 b. However, thecontrol-wireless communication may not only transmit information forconnecting to the integrated base station 101 b rapidly, but may alsotransmit, for example, the metadata information. Accordingly, thecommunication terminal 201 b is able to obtain contents informationretained by the integrated base station 101 b without starting thewireless LAN. Thus, when there is no information desired by thecommunication terminal 201 b, the communication terminal 201 b is ableto operate without starting the wireless LAN, and consequently it ispossible to reduce power consumption of the communication terminal 201b.

Further, the integrated base station 101 b may transmit contents byusing the control-wireless communication. That is, the integrated basestation 101 b retains, in the contents memory section 122, highlyimportant information, among contents to be transmitted by using thewireless LAN, or simplified information which is obtained by reducing anamount of data of contents to be transmitted by using the wireless LAN,and transmits the information via the control-wireless communication.Accordingly, the following manner of usage may be proposed: a lowfunction terminal including the control-wireless communication only, forexample, obtains town information in an audio form, whereas a highfunction terminal including a wireless LAN function obtains detailedtown information having guide maps, recommended spot information, andthe like attached thereto by using the wireless LAN.

Further, process procedures performed by the respective function blocksdescribed in the respective embodiments of the present invention may berealized by a CPU interpreting and executing predetermined program datacapable of executing the above-described process procedures stored on astorage device (a ROM, a RAM, a hard disc, and the like). In this case,the program data may be introduced into the storage device via a storagemedium, or may be directly executed on the storage medium. Here, thestorage medium includes: a semiconductor memory such as a ROM, a RAM, aflash memory and the like; a magnetic disc memory such as a flexibledisc, hard disc, and the like; an optical disc memory such as a CD-ROM,a DVD, a BD, and the like; and a memory card and the like. Further, thestorage medium is a notion including a communication medium such as aphone line, a carrier path, and the like.

Further, each of the respective function blocks described in therespective embodiments of the present invention is typically executed asan LSI, an integrated circuit. The function blocks may be each providedin a chip form, or some or all of the function blocks may be provided ina chip form. The LSI may be referred to as an IC, a system LSI, a superLSI, an ultra LSI depending on the degree of integration.

Further, the method of integration is not limited to the LSI, and may berealized by a dedicated circuit or a general purpose processor.Alternatively, an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array) which isprogrammable after manufacturing the LSI, or a reconfigurable processorenabling reconfiguration of connection or setting of a circuit cell inthe LSI may be used. Still alternatively, a configuration may be used inwhich, in a hardware resource including a processor, a memory, and thelike, a control program stored in a ROM is executed by the processor,and then controlled.

Still further, in the case where another integration technologyreplacing the LSI becomes available due to an improvement of asemiconductor technology or due to emergence of another technologyderived therefrom, the function blocks may be integrated using such anew technology. For example, biotechnology may be applied.

The present invention is useful, for example, as a technology whichallows a user to receive a large amount of communication contents and todisplay contents desired by the user when his/her communication terminalpasses through a communication area of an access point.

While the invention has been described in detail, the foregoingdescription is in all aspects illustrative and not restrictive. It isunderstood that numerous other modifications and variations can bedevised without departing from the scope of the invention.

1. A wireless base station connected to a server that distributescontents and to a wireless communication terminal, the wireless basestation comprising: an external communication control section thatcontrols communication with the server; a contents memory section thatstores at least a part of the contents received from the server; anaccess restriction section that monitors a type of connection with thewireless communication terminal, and for restricting access forconnection from the wireless communication terminal to the server or tothe wireless base station; a wireless communication section thatcommunicates with the wireless communication terminal in accordance witha predetermined communication method; and a control section thatcontrols the wireless communication section, wherein the control sectioncontrols the wireless communication section, and establishes connectionwith the wireless communication terminal by using a first connectionwhich does not require an authentication procedure for connection withthe wireless communication terminal, or by using a second connectionwhich requires the authentication procedure for connection with thewireless communication terminal, and the access control section permitsaccess from the wireless communication terminal to the contents memorysection and prohibits access from the wireless communication terminal tothe server when the type of connection with the wireless communicationterminal is the first connection, and permits access from the wirelesscommunication terminal to both of the contents memory section and theserver when the type of connection is the second connection.
 2. Thewireless base station according to claim 1, wherein the control sectionomits the authentication procedure in the predetermined communicationmethod in the case of using the first connection for connection with thewireless communication terminal, and executes the authenticationprocedure in the predetermined communication method in the case of usingthe second connection for connection with the wireless communicationterminal.
 3. The wireless base station according to claim 1, wherein thecontents memory section stores therein contents that are not subjectedto access restriction.
 4. The wireless base station according to claim1, wherein the contents memory section stores therein contents that arefrequently requested from the wireless communication terminal.
 5. Thewireless base station according to claim 1, wherein, in an intervalusing the first connection, the control section collects contents datarequested from a plurality of the wireless communication terminals,controls the wireless communication section, and transmits the collectedcontents data, in a broadcasting format, to the plurality of wirelesscommunication terminals.
 6. The wireless base station according to claim1, wherein the wireless communication section includes: a first wirelesscommunication section that communicates with the wireless communicationterminal in accordance with a first wireless communication method; and asecond wireless communication section that communicates with thewireless communication terminal in accordance with a second wirelesscommunication method, prior to the first wireless communication sectionstarting communication with the wireless communication terminal, thecontrol section controls the second wireless communication section, andtransmits, to the wireless communication terminal, profile informationthat is necessary for the first wireless communication section tocommunicate with the wireless communication terminal.
 7. The wirelessbase station according to claim 1, wherein the profile informationincludes communication channel information or identification informationof the first wireless communication section.
 8. The wireless basestation according to claim 7, wherein the profile information furtherincludes encrypting information necessary to encrypt the first wirelesscommunication.
 9. The wireless base station according to claim 7,wherein the profile information further includes startup informationthat causes the wireless communication terminal to start a communicationfunction based on the first wireless communication method.
 10. Thewireless base station according to claim 6, wherein the second wirelesscommunication section operates by using lower power than the firstwireless communication section.
 11. The wireless base station accordingto claim 6, wherein the second wireless communication method establishesconnection with the wireless communication terminal in a shorter periodof time than the first wireless communication method.
 12. The wirelessbase station according to claim 6, wherein the first wirelesscommunication method is a broadcasting type communication method thatsimultaneously transmits information to a plurality of wirelesscommunication terminals.
 13. The wireless base station according toclaim 6, wherein the second wireless communication method is abroadcasting type communication method that simultaneously transmitsinformation to a plurality of wireless communication terminals.
 14. Thewireless base station according to claim 7, wherein at least a part of asecond wireless communication area, which is an area enablingcommunication using the second wireless communication method, isoverlapped with a first wireless communication area, which is an areaenabling communication using the first wireless communication method.15. The wireless base station according to claim 14, wherein the secondwireless communication area is located within the first wirelesscommunication area.
 16. A wireless communication terminal connected, viaa wireless base station, to a server that distributes contents, thewireless communication terminal comprising: a wireless communicationsection that communicates with the wireless base station in accordancewith a predetermined communication method; a control section thatcontrols the wireless communication section; and a terminal controlsection that controls transmission of information on contents request tothe wireless base station, wherein the control section controls thewireless communication section, and establishes connection with thewireless communication terminal by using a first connection which doesnot require an authentication procedure for connection with the wirelesscommunication terminal, or by using a second connection which requiresthe authentication procedure for connection with the wirelesscommunication terminal.
 17. The wireless communication terminalaccording to claim 16, wherein the wireless communication sectionreceives, from the wireless base station, metadata relating to contents,and the terminal control section includes: a user attribute extractionsection that extracts user attribute information; and a request contentsfilter section that filters the metadata received from the wireless basestation so as to obtain contents which strongly coincides with the userattribute information, and for generating the information on thecontents request.
 18. The wireless communication terminal according toclaim 16, wherein the wireless communication section includes: a firstwireless communication section that communicates with the wirelesscommunication terminal in accordance with a first wireless communicationmethod; and a second wireless communication section that communicateswith the wireless communication terminal in accordance with a secondwireless communication method, prior to the first wireless communicationsection starting communication with the wireless communication terminal,the control section controls the second wireless communication section,and transmits, to the wireless communication terminal, profileinformation that is necessary for the first wireless communicationsection to communicate with the wireless communication terminal.
 19. Awireless communication system in which a server that distributescontents and a wireless communication terminal are connected to eachother via a wireless base station, the wireless base station comprising:an external communication control section that controls communicationwith the server; a contents memory section that stores at least a partof the contents received from the server; an access restriction sectionthat monitors a type of connection with the wireless communicationterminal, and that restricts access for connection from the wirelesscommunication terminal to the server or to the wireless base station; abase-station-side wireless communication section that communicates withthe wireless communication terminal in accordance with a predeterminedcommunication method; and a base-station-side control section thatcontrols the base-station-side wireless communication section, whereinthe base-station-side control section controls the base-station-sidewireless communication section, and establishes connection with thewireless communication terminal by using a first connection which doesnot require an authentication procedure for connection with the wirelesscommunication terminal, or by using a second connection which requiresthe authentication procedure for connection with the wirelesscommunication terminal, and the access control section permits accessfrom the wireless communication terminal to the contents memory sectionand prohibits access from the wireless communication terminal to theserver when the type of connection with the wireless communicationterminal is the first connection, and permits access from the wirelesscommunication terminal to both of the contents memory section and theserver when the type of connection is the second connection, thewireless communication terminal comprising: a terminal-side wirelesscommunication section that communicates with the wireless base stationin accordance with a predetermined communication method; a terminal-sidecontrol section that controls the terminal-side wireless communicationsection; and a terminal-side control section that transmits informationon a contents request to the wireless base station, wherein theterminal-side control section controls the terminal-side wirelesscommunication section, and establishes connection with the wireless basestation by using the first connection which does not require theauthentication procedure for connection with the wireless base station,or by using the second connection which requires the authenticationprocedure for connection with the wireless base station.
 20. A methodimplemented by a wireless base station connected to a server thatdistributes contents and to a wireless communication terminal, thewireless base station comprising a contents memory section that storestherein at least a part of the contents received from the server, themethod comprising: an external communication controlling step ofcontrolling communication with the server; an access restricting step ofmonitoring a type of connection with the wireless communicationterminal, and of restricting access for connection from the wirelesscommunication terminal to the server or to the wireless base station;and a wireless communication controlling step of controllingcommunication with the wireless communication terminal, wherein thewireless communication controlling step establishes connection with thewireless communication terminal by using a first connection which doesnot require an authentication procedure for connection with the wirelesscommunication terminal, or by using a second connection which requiresthe authentication procedure for connection with the wirelesscommunication terminal, and the access controlling step permits accessfrom the wireless communication terminal to the contents memory sectionand prohibits access from the wireless communication terminal to theserver when the type of connection with the wireless communicationterminal is the first connection, and permits access from the wirelesscommunication terminal to both of the contents memory section and theserver when the type of connection is the second connection.
 21. Amethod implemented by a wireless communication terminal connected, via awireless base station, a server that distributes contents, the methodcomprising: a wireless communication step of communicating with thewireless base station in accordance with a predetermined communicationmethod; and a terminal controlling step of controlling transmission ofinformation on contents request to the wireless base station, whereinthe wireless communication step establishes connection with the wirelessbase station by using a first connection which does not require anauthentication procedure for connection with the wireless base station,or by using a second connection which requires the authenticationprocedure for connection with the wireless base station.